Chapter 72

The representative had just reached the front drive when he noticed the arriving visitor.

Victoria Sterling stepped out of her car carrying a gift box. She paused when she saw him.

"Ms. Sterling. It's been a while."

He greeted her with a polite smile.

Victoria didn't recognize him immediately and simply returned the greeting. Then her eyes fell on the Ferrari badge on his portfolio, and recognition flickered across her face.

"Oh. You're with Ferrari. Are you here because—"

He had spent nearly twenty years dealing with clients at this level. Knowing what not to say was every bit as important as knowing what to say.

The car was registered in Elena Hayes's name, but there was no question who had paid for it.

He considered the situation for only a moment before giving her the same professional smile.

"Mr. Sterling took delivery of a new car today."

It was technically true.

Victoria nodded. "I see. Well, I won't keep you."

"Have a good day, Ms. Sterling."

He inclined his head and continued toward the black executive vehicle waiting outside.

Victoria walked through the partially open gates toward the main house. The Ferrari had already been moved, so she never saw it. Nor did she think much of the encounter.

If her father had just taken delivery of another car, he was probably in a decent mood. That might actually make today easier.

Victoria had come to apologize.

Charlotte Whitmore was, after all, her friend, and Victoria had been the one who invited her to the house that night. There was no point pretending she bore no responsibility for what happened.

She had brought someone into the house who didn't know where to draw the line, and that person had ended up causing trouble serious enough to anger her father.

If the incident had never reached Richard, that might have been the end of it. But since it had, Victoria knew she couldn't simply pretend it had nothing to do with her. At the very least, she owed him an apology.

Victoria rarely came to this house. She had almost never been inside the main residence, and even on the few occasions she visited, she usually stayed in the formal sitting room near the entrance.

The butler soon came to meet her.

"Miss Sterling."

"Is my father busy?"

"He's free at the moment." The butler stepped aside. "He's waiting for you in the east guest pavilion."

Victoria nodded and followed him along a shaded stone path leading away from the main house.

The pavilion was an elegant glass-walled building overlooking the water. Its interior was luxurious but restrained, with a wide view of the grounds.

What Victoria didn't know was that Richard primarily used it for business meetings and receiving guests. Since she rarely visited, she didn't think anything of being brought there.

If anything, she assumed her father simply felt like sitting somewhere with a view.

Richard was waiting in the lounge, dressed casually on a dark gray leather sofa. The usual sharpness in his expression seemed somewhat softened today.

Victoria relaxed a little.

Just as she thought. The new car must have put him in a good mood.

"Dad."

She approached him properly.

Richard nodded. "Sit."

Victoria took the armchair beside the sofa and placed the velvet gift box she had brought on the marble coffee table. She drew a breath.

"Dad, I only recently found out what happened at the house that night."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "You know?"

"Yes." Victoria lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry I didn't know sooner. It was my mistake."

Richard said nothing. He simply leaned back against the sofa and watched her.

Being looked at like that made Victoria uneasy, but she continued.

"I misjudged Charlotte. I became friends with her because she did well academically. She wasn't like some people at school who barely care about their classes, so I thought we might have things in common and could discuss our work."

She paused.

"I realize now that academic ability doesn't say much about someone's character. You don't have to worry. I won't associate with her anymore."

Richard listened without any visible change in expression.

"True," he said eventually. "Grades tell you very little about a person."

Victoria paused.

Something about the way he said it made her feel as though there was another meaning underneath the words.

Before she could think too much about it, she pushed the gift box toward him.

"I brought you something. I made these myself."

She smiled.

"I know you try not to eat too much sugar, so I made them less sweet."

In reality, Victoria had asked a pastry chef to make them. She had helped remove a few from their molds at the end.

That counted for something.

Besides, her father had a multinational conglomerate to run. Surely he wasn't going to investigate a box of pastries.

Richard lowered his eyes to the elegantly wrapped box.

"You made them?"

"Yes."

"You're interested in baking now?"

Victoria straightened slightly.

She had always thought cooking was something other people did for her. With her background, there had never been any reason to learn.

Obviously, now was not the time to say that.

"I baked them myself. It was actually kind of fun."

She immediately began reciting everything she had memorized beforehand.

"I used pastry flour, butter, almond flour, coconut flour…"

She listed the ingredients one by one, even adding the measurements.

By the time she finished, the room had gone strangely quiet.

Richard looked at her. There was the faintest hint of irony in his eyes.

"We have all of those ingredients in the kitchen here."

Victoria froze.

Richard continued calmly, "If you enjoy baking that much, you can make another batch."

The color drained from her face.

For one awful second, she imagined herself standing in his kitchen with no idea what to do after opening the flour.

Richard watched her expression.

Then he let her off the hook.

"You look tired, though. Go get some rest."

He could have sent her straight to the kitchen and watched the lie collapse within minutes, but there was no reason to waste time proving something he already knew. He had better things to do.

"Thank you for making the effort," he added.

Victoria stood almost immediately.

"Then… I won't keep you."

She turned and left the pavilion. The composed pace she had arrived with had somehow become considerably faster by the time she disappeared down the path.

The room fell quiet again.

Five minutes later, Elena came in through the side door and immediately noticed the gift box on the table.

"…Those are pretty."

Richard glanced at her.

"If you want some, I'll have fresh ones made. Judging by the ingredients, you probably wouldn't like these."

Elena laughed.

"No, I'm good. I can handle a bite or two of things like that, but after that they get way too rich for me."

She glanced toward the path Victoria had taken.

"I went to start the car for a minute. You two are done already?"

Richard raised an eyebrow.

"Did you want to talk to her?"

"Not particularly. We barely know each other." Elena hesitated. "And I probably shouldn't suddenly appear before she leaves… right?"

She looked at Richard uncertainly.

"Why are you asking me?" Richard remained perfectly calm. "That's your decision."

Then he added, "She's going to find out eventually."

"Oh."

Elena's thoughts tangled for a second.

"Daughters don't necessarily tell their fathers every time they start dating someone, so fathers should get the same freedom, right? You get a girlfriend, you don't have to immediately report it to your daughter."

She thought about it.

"My dad didn't tell me he was seeing someone until they were practically ready to get married."

Richard looked at her, the faintest hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Exactly."

He paused.

"So she'll find out eventually."

Elena blinked.

Then her own words caught up with her.

Practically ready to get married.

Heat rushed into her face.